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Study Finds Gender Bias in STEM Hiring

In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Columbia Business School professor Ernesto Reuben reports that gender bias is extraordinarily prevalent among STEM hiring managers.

In an experiment in which participants were hired to perform a mathematical task, both male and female managers were twice as likely to hire a man than a woman, even when the managers had no information beyond a candidate’s appearance.

And it's not only workforce diversity that suffers, Reuben notes:

The end result is not only a less diverse workforce and a male–dominated STEM field, but also a detriment to these companies for hiring the less–skilled person for the job.